Converse | Eddie Munson x OC x Billy Hargrove

Chapter 2

"Wake up, numbskull,"

It being the third time I had to utter that request, this one followed with a small splash of water into Steve's face.

"Hey! Hey, I'm up, dude, come on," Steve swung, arm colliding with the wooden bed frame he was draped over.

"You're a mess and we leave in ten minutes." I grunt, padding out of the room.

The car was being finicky. I had tried to start it over time and again, but the damned thing only revved, and then went back to being idle. When I turned the key again, the engine sputtered, but this time, it died immediately after. I tried again, same result, and slammed on the horn.

"Damn it!"

"I told you I was coming!" A disgruntled Steve whined, running his hand through his messy hair and slamming the passenger door shut.

"No, its the fucking car- we're walking." I hiss, slamming on the horn again, longer.

"Hey, hey- you're gonna wake up the neighborhood. We can't walk, we're gonna be late." Steve tried to reason.

"We wouldn't be late walking if you had woken up on time." I growled.

He sighed, running another hand through his hair. The edges were fuzzy, not typical for him. He usually perfectly styled his mane.

"What's going on?" I wondered aloud, trying to pry into his head with my eyes.

His eyes flickered away, focusing anywhere but on me. "I just- I've been going through a ton. I'm sorry about last night."

"Like what?" I pried.

He shook his head.

"Not good enough," I snapped.

He opened his mouth, eyes flitting wildly, about as quickly as I assumed his thoughts must have been moving. He closed his mouth again, not uttering anything.

"Steve, I don't know how the Nancy thing went down or what happened last Christmas- I don't know what's gotten you to the point you're at, but you're losing it-"

"Alright!" He shouted. I jumped a little. He never shouted at me. Insulted me, yes. Ignored me, sure. But never shouted. Maybe I was being pretty irritable, but still. He closed his eyes. This time, his words were a careful whisper. "Alright."

I blinked at him, somewhat defensively, waiting for an explanation.

He shook the back of his hair, loosening it a bit from it's gelled up cage. "Nancy and I broke up. Just the other day, actually. It's because of Barb."

My lower lip twisted between my teeth, and I started to chew. That checked out. Barb had gone missing last year, and she was Nancy's best friend. I pretty much had figured that Nancy had been acting differently because of that- I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to Steve. My brow furrowed. I suppose it was a bit pitiful, thinking of Steve as my best friend, but honestly, I knew too much about everyone else- too much that I couldn't forgive. People sucked. Almost all of them.

Steve shook his head, backtracking. "You know what? It's not because of Barb. I pushed her to move on. I can't handle that sort of thing. And so- well, so, we broke up."

My hands, which had formerly been gripping the steering wheel tight enough to pale my knuckles, went limp. Lamely, I just replied, "I'm sorry, man."

Steve shrugged, agitation still present, but slowly ebbing away.

Not knowing exactly how to respond- especially given Steve was acting more despairing than I knew how to handle- I pushed open the car door and began to clomp down the street. At some point, his presence was made known, as he strode beside me and gingerly draped an arm across my shoulders. I had an urge to shove him off and punch him in the shoulder for good measure, but instead I left it alone. It was en that I felt a single drop of water fall right between my eyes.